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Fannie Mae Supporting Homeownership Through Mortgages

Sep 01

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The federal national mortgage association, better known as Fannie Mae, is an integral part of the mortgage industry. Heres an overview on Fannie Mae and what it does.

Fannie Mae Providing A Little Help

Throughout the history of the United States, federal and state governments have used financial programs to modify our behavior. While it sounds draconian, it is actually a fairly bland concept. To stop us from undertaking bad or unhealthy behavior, taxes are levied on things such as cigarettes to motivate us to stop smoking. On the positive side, similar financial incentives are create to promote positive things such as homeownership.

Homeownership is often referred to as the American Dream. In truth, it is one of the key factors in maintaining a middle class in our country. Homeownership is, more or less, an involuntary savings plan for most Americans. Property appreciates over time which means you are gaining wealth regardless of what you are doing with your credit cards.

Today, more of us own homes than at any point in history. This is due to a number of factors, one of which is the broad availability of mortgages in which we can borrow large sums of money over long periods of time. The federal government through Fannie Mae among other institutions promotes this opportunity.

A common mistake is to assume Fannie Mae is a government entity. It is not. The company is a publicly traded entity just like Microsoft, Google or your favorite stock.

A second misconception is that Fannie Mae provides mortgages directly to borrowers. Again, it does not. Instead, the company provides liquidity to mortgage lenders so they can continue to provide you with home loans.

Fannie Mae was created in 1938 by the federal government. Its purpose was to provide liquidity [money] to a secondary mortgage market. If youve ever had a mortgage, you probably have experienced the odd event where your mortgage is sold to another lender. These secondary lenders rarely work directly with the public. Instead, they buy mortgages after the application process and collect the payments. In creating Fannie Mae, the government desired to make sure there was enough money in the secondary market to keep the mortgage industry operating smoothly. To this end, Fannie Mae was specifically charged with the task of buying mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, better known as FHA.

In 1968, Fannie Mae went private and expanded the secondary mortgage operation by purchasing both FHA loans and non-FHA instruments. This evolution made Fannie Mae a major player in the mortgage industry. Since going public, it has purchased more than 63 million mortgages, which has helped put a lot of our fannies in homes.

While Fannie Mae is a publicly traded company, it is still tied to the federal government through a congressional charter. The charter allows Congress to oversee Fannie Mae and make sure it is following its initial purpose. Fannie Mae, however, receives none of our taxes.

Danger of Deferred Interest Mortgages: Understanding the Risks of Negative

Aug 04

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Danger of Deferred Interest Mortgages: Understanding the Risks of Negative Amortization Home Loans

Negative amortization or “neg am” occurs when the minimum payment on a mortgage covers less than the monthly interest charged, causing the balance of the loan to increase instead of decrease. Interest only loans generally dont increase the balance due on a home although they dont diminish the amount due. However, deferred interest loans will increase your loan amount. This can happen with negative amortizations loans like a payment option ARM, where payment choices can be calculated based on COFI – The 11th District Cost of Funds Index which demonstrates the average interest rate paid by certain banks in Arizona, California and Nevada or on MTA – The 12 month Treasury Average, giving you a variety of choices in payments. While these loans can be a good deal when short-term interest rates are low, they are not necessarily the right choice when short term loans have a higher interest rate, like now. For most, now is not the right time to refinance a fixed-rate loan for a deferred interest mortgage.

If you are looking to eventually cash out home equity, you should look for a purchase loan that involves paying some of the principal. Not only is it possible you may not build equity in your home with neg am loans, but you also may have a loss of equity through an increased mortgage balance. If you suddenly need to sell your home, you may not be able to get a purchase price high enough to cover your loan. You will also have more difficulty getting a second mortgage behind negative ARM loans.

Henry Savage, president of PMC Mortgage notes that on a deferred mortgage, The mortgage balance can increase as much as 350 per month for every 100,000 that’s borrowed. The neg am on a 500,000 loan for example, can be as much as 1,750 per month. He continues by noting, There are not many circumstances where I would recommend an Option ARM. However, there are a few instances where deferred interest or negative amortization loans may make sense.

Neg am loans are good for investment properties when you may be paying a double mortgage. They are also good for self-employed with cash flow issues. If you plan on normally paying some of the principal, but dont know what your cash flow will be like from month to month, it may be helpful to have the option of a minimum payment.

Do you homework before deciding on a deferred interest mortgage. Although your payments will be lower, there are inherent risks involved and you may be better off with a fixed-rate mortgage.